Rear Admiral Rochon is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and enlisted in the U. S. Coast Guard in 1970. His first tour of duty until 1973 was aboard the cutter WHITE BUSH in Astoria, Oregon, followed by a tour as a recruiter in New Orleans where he advanced to Boatswain’s Mate First Class Petty Officer. He received a commission as an Ensign in 1975 from the Officer Candidate School at Yorktown, Virginia. He then was assigned to Marine Safety Office Los Angeles/Long Beach, California as Assistant Port Operations and Intelligence Officer. In 1979, he served in the Coast Guard Reserve while attending Xavier University of Louisiana, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.
In 1984, he returned to active duty to serve as Chief of the Reserve Training Branch of the Ninth Coast Guard District in Cleveland, Ohio. In this position he organized the Coast Guard’s first Combat Skills Course with the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia and served on temporary duty in the Middle East to train the Royal Jordanian Coast Guard. In 1987, he was Chief of the Reserve Personnel Systems Branch at Coast Guard Headquarters. Between 1995 and 1998, he served at Marine Safety Office Baltimore as Executive Officer, and then at the new Activities Baltimore as Chief of the Operations Support and Plans Department, and later as the Deputy Commander. After graduating from War College in 1999, he returned to his hometown as Commanding Officer of the Marine Safety Office in New Orleans, Louisiana. In this position he also was the Captain of the Port and Officer in Charge of Marine Inspection. Rear Admiral Rochon was appointed to his first flag officer assignment in Washington, DC as Director, Office of Intelligence and Security, and the National Security Advisor to the Secretary of Transportation. Following this he was the Acting Assistant Commandant for Intelligence at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC, becoming its first Flag Officer Intelligence Professional.
As a passionate student of history, he wrote and produced a video documentary honoring the late Alex Haley, USCG (Retired) -- renowned author of the famous book, “Roots.” In 1996, he spearheaded the posthumous awarding of the Gold Lifesaving Medal for the all-black crew of the Pea Island Lifesaving Station for their daring rescue in 1896 near the Outer Banks of North Carolina. He is published on the subject and has appeared on national TV and radio. He also led the effort to award the Gold Lifesaving Medal to six New Orleans mariners for their bravery during the 1969 fire and sinking of the SS Union Faith on the Mississippi River.
His personal military awards include two Legion of Merit Medals, 2 Meritorious Service Medals, 2 CG Commendation Medals, 2 DOT 9/11 Medals, 2 CG Achievement Medals, 2 Commandant’s Letter of Commendation Ribbons, and numerous other unit and service awards. He received the 1989 Coast Guard Equal Opportunity Achievement Award, and 1990 United Negro College Fund Leadership Award, 1997 Port of Baltimore Vital Link Award, 1998 Vice President Gore Hammer Award, 1998 NAACP Roy P. Wilkins Renowned Service Award, 2001 World Trade Center New Orleans C. Alvin Bertel Award, and 2002 Greater New Orleans Barge Fleeting Association Maritime Person of the Year. He is a 1995 Council for Excellence in Government Fellows graduate. In 1999, he graduated from the National Defense University’s Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) in Washington, DC, receiving a Master’s Degree in National Resource Strategy. In 2002, he completed the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Program for National and International Security.
He is married to the former Shirley Hamilton Bennett, also a long-time employee of the Coast Guard. They have 4 adult children and 8 grandchildren, and he is the proud son of Ursula Carrere Rochon Jupiter.